DANCING WITH THE STARS: THE NEXT PRO - “But Can You Teach? Coaching Superfans with Witney Carson” - Witney Carson joins to push dancers to face their toughest challenge yet, teaching ballroom novices. Paired with “Dancing with the Stars” superfans, they have just two days to prepare a performance as they compete for a spot in the semifinals. MONDAY, AUG. 17 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Vince Valitutti) SELENA
Dancing With the Stars The Next Pro Recap for 8/17/2026
We are in week six of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro on ABC. This week, Witney Carson is on hand to help judge and also show the remaining contestants how to teach super fans how to dance.
Shirley Ballas and Mark Ballas judge, while Robert Irwin hosts.
Each social media personality super fan is paired with a dancer.
Adele is glad her partner Anthony has dance experience, albeit not ballroom. They seem to get along and work well together. Despite being no nonsense, she has patience with him, even when he gets frustrated.
Selena is teaching ballroom for the first time to Jeremy. He seems unsure of what to do and wants to add lifts, but they are not allowed in traditional ballroom.
Allen is happy with Zaira, who is picking up on the dance fairly quickly.
AJ is with Bailey and seems to be rushing through everything, overwhelming her.
Nina is working on Jay’s posture rather than choreography. This overwhelms them both.
Witney, Mark and Shirley watch all the teams, giving commentary and worrying about how the routines will go based on what they are seeing.
Later on, Witney talks to the super fans, who talk about the pros and cons of working with their partners.
She then has everyone close their eyes and show (using their fingers) how confident they are on a scale from 1-10. Anthony says four, worrying Witney.
Showtime!
Nina and Jay: Their foxtrot is basic and is cute to boot. He’s got charisma for days and it seems like he is having a blast out there
Shirley: The hold and footwork was incorrect.
Mark: The frame was too close and his butt was sticking out too much.
Witney: She loved the hip hop moments and she thinks it was fun to watch.
Adele and Anthony: Their tango is hot and despite his lack of confidence really shows what he has learned over the past couple of days. She really proved she is a great teacher and he proved he is a great pupil.
Mark: It was ambitious.
Shirley: It was a risk that she loved.
Witney: It was impressive.
AJ and Bailey: Viennese waltz shows his experience as a teacher and how incredible she is at dancing. It is the best routine of the night so far and filled with great technique, amazing artistry and all-around beautiful moments.
Witney: It was a beautiful, technically sound moment, despite missing some emotion.
Mark: It looked great.
Shirley: It was miraculous and they killed it.
Allen and Zaira: Their waltz is so moving and beautiful to watch. It looks like it belongs on DWTS, so amazingly gorgeous and nearly perfect in every way.
Shirley: It was beautiful, but there was a bit of a mishap with the footwork.
Witney: She loved the connection and confidence in the routine.
Mark: It was a solid performance with good energy.
Selena and Jeremy: Their quickstep is fun and he is just the cutest ever. Out of all of the couples, they seem to be having the most fun. It is by far my favorite of the night.
Witney: The energy was amazing and Selena’s jazz background really added to it.
Mark: It was fun and had musicality, but they needed to use the floor more.
Shirley: While she liked the million dollar smile and tricks, she feels Selena didn’t follow the rules.
Nina and Selena are in the bottom two, with Nina going home.
Semi-finals next week, stay tuned!
About the Author
